Four players from rival school helping Mustangs with undefeated start

The first official day of practice for the Pawnee Coyotes saw the team have just enough to field a team. After a week of preseason practices, the school was forced to pull the plug on having a football team this fall due to low numbers.

The players that still wanted to play football in the fall would have the option of attending a nearby school and to play on their football team for the 2017 season instead.

They had an obvious choice where they wanted to go.

"I knew at least one guy from here and he was encouraging us to make this decision to come over here and play for them," junior Trey Moore said. "I think it was a great move."

Four players from Pawnee joined the Prairie Mustangs football team this fall for their home away from home this season. All four have played vital roles for the Mustangs and have helped them open the season 5-0 and reach No. 5 in the latest CHSAA 6-man polls this week.

In 2015, players from Prairie joined the Pawnee football team after the school was forced to drop its program due to low numbers that season. The merger saw the Coyotes finish 6-3 with a trip to the 6-man state tournament. Two years later, the two schools have again come together for football, this time playing in New Raymer.

Moore is joined by fellow juniors Devin Boling, Wyatt Schnug and James Krist in joining the Mustangs this fall. Prairie has enjoyed having the four players help an experienced roster win their first five games of the season, including four wins by 51 or more points.

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"Playing with a new team has been a little rough, but this is the best you can hope for playing with a new team," Krist said.

While the success has made it worthwhile, coming over midway through the preseason to a new team was a difficult transition for the players. From learning a new scheme to the 40-minute drive to and from New Raymer for practice and games, the players have had to put in extra work to fit with their new team this fall.

Prairie coach Justin Kerns admitted that the new players have been a fit right away on defense and have played an important role in the team allowing 14 points or fewer in all five games this season. The four have combined for 53 tackles, three sacks and a fumble recovery so far. The challenge so far has been finding the right fit for all the players on offense, most notably in the backfield where the team was already rich in running backs.

"For me it's different because I didn't play football the last few years at Pawnee," Boling explained. "It does feel good to come over here and to start 5-0 like we did."

Moore and Boling have five rushing scores while Schnug and Krist have played big roles on the offensive line and in the passing game on offense.

Now, the four players will try to help Prairie get through its biggest three-game stretch on the schedule that will determine a conference title and a postseason bid. The Mustangs will play three top-10 teams in the next three weeks, starting with the No. 1 ranked Peetz Bulldogs this Friday night in New Raymer.

"We haven't had that much of a real matchup like we will have over the next three games, but I think we're going to be able to buckle down and do what we need to do in order to win," Boling said. "I think we'll be able to pull it out."

The depth and size of the roster is something the team hopes will wear down Peetz and help them come out with the win on Friday, according to Krist.

"We will be looking to put our size to good use," Krist said. "I feel we have a good bench where we don't need the same six guys running for us this year."

Following Friday's home finale will be two road games with North Park and Fleming, two teams that have seen postseason success in recent years and are looking to finish strong for some momentum heading into the postseason.

"We all want to play and get better every single day in practice," Moore said. "We are having a lot of success with that."

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